Craig points way to Golden Bear victory

MT. JULIET — Led by senior point guard Demond Craig, Mt. Juliet gradually pulled away from Hendersonville in the second half Tuesday to a 56-43 win over Hendersonville.
The Golden Bears led 25-21 at halftime before Craig scored seven of his 16 points in the third quarter, capped by his layup at the buzzer off his steal, one of his several thefts, for a 38-29 advantage.
Center Cory Payne scored six of his 10 in the fourth, enabling Mt. Juliet to withstand the nine notched by Hendersonville's John Baldwin off the bench during the period as the Golden Bears moved to 12-8 for the season and 4-4 in District 9-AAA. The Commandos fell to 7-11, 1-7.
Hendersonville led most of the first quarter as Joey Walker scored seven of his 16 during the period and Chris Hewgley tossed in both of his three-pointers. Troy Watson drove the lane for his only points of the night and a 15-11 lead at the break.
But the Bears broke loose for an 8-0 run to start the second quarter. Ryan Overstreet's putback following a steal caught the Commandos at 15-15 and back-to-back baseline jumpers by Craig put Mt. Juliet ahead to stay.
Berek Lunn tossed in two threes on his way to eight points for Mt. Juliet while Jonta Bowman and Jeremy Starks each scored six and Overstreet and Ethan Gross two apiece.
Mt. Juliet will go to LaVergne on Friday.

Surging Central beats Beech in three overtimes
HENDERSONVILLE — Wilson Central's surging Wildcats keep finding ways to win, even when it takes three overtimes.
Kody Woodard scored the last of his 18 points with 24 seconds left in the third overtime and Wilson Central survived a couple of Beech possessions for a 60-59 victory Tuesday night.
Central never led until the fourth quarter as the Buccaneers were ahead 13-8, 26-21 and 38-35 following each of the first three periods. The teams were tied 51-51 following regulation and 58-58 through two four-minute extra sessions.
"Our kids were real resilient tonight when it came down to it," said Central coach Troy Bond, whose 15-6 Wildcats [5-3 in District 9-AAA] are 5-1 since the holidays and 10-2 since midterm exams last month. "I can't say enough about how much fight they have and the drive to succeed.
"We just find a way to put it in there."
Woodard and point guard Kelten Stewart each tossed in two threes while JaJuan Brooks threw in three triples. Stewart and Brooks both finished with 13 points while freshman Teraes Clemmons scored six before fouling out in the first overtime. Daniel Palmer fouled out in regulation as he and Travis Adkins each finished with four while Arcavius McMurray managed two.
Ben Crocker totaled 21 points and Peyton Townley 10 for Beech.
Central will host Hunters Lane on Thursday following the girl's 4:30 p.m. contest. Saturday's Shelbyville game will follow the girl's 3 p.m. tipoff.

Free throws with no time left doom Blue Devils 64-62
SPARTA — Following what Lebanon coach Doug Keil termed a "questionable call" as time expired, Aaron Puckett popped in two free throws to lift White County to a 64-62 win over the Blue Devils in a back-and-forth District 7-AAA affair Tuesday at Roy Sewell Gym.
Alex Johnson had just lifted Lebanon into a 62-62 tie on a three-point play off an offensive rebound with five seconds left. But the Blue Devils were called for a three-point foul, a play which some observers said no contact was made. Puckett tossed in 2 of 3 free throws to drop the Blue Devils to 12-10 for the season and 4-5 in the district.
"It was a hard-fought ballgame," Keil said. "It had a lot of ebb and flow.
"It was a packed house, a difficult place to play. We weren't hitting on all cylinders but we kept fighting and finding a way and we almost took it to overtime."
White County led 15-12 following the first quarter before the Warriors went cold in the second to fall behind 33-23 by halftime. The hosts found their shooting touch in the third to go up 50-47 going into the fourth.
"We made a couple of key turnovers and they converted with threes on consecutive possessions," Keil said of the third quarter. "They started feeding off each other. They were on fire for a while."
None were hotter than J.J. Taylor, who threw in three of his four triples in the third quarter on his way to 18 points. Tyler Greene also sank a trio of treys as he and Kyle Delaney each fired in 15 while Puckett pitched in 12.
O'Keefe McCarver threw in three triples and sank 7 of 8 free throws to lead Lebanon with 20 points. Center Herschal McCathern added 11 while Terrence Logue and Alex Johnson each added eight, Xavier Smith six, Ken Walton five and Michael Edwards and Connor Burger two apiece.
It gets no easier for Lebanon as No. 3 Oakland comes to Campbell Brandon Gym/Hester Gibbs Court for the Blue Devils' homecoming on Friday.

Kneisel leads hot-shooting Purple Tigers to rare win at Red Boiling Springs
RED BOILING SPRINGS — Red Boiling Springs' gym has long been a house of horrors for Watertown teams until Tuesday when the Purple Tigers attacked the basket with accuracy in a 51-36 thumping of the Bulldogs.
"We shot the ball well," Watertown assistant coach T.J. Hewitt said after the Purple Tigers sank 17 of 28 field goals, including 5 of 15 three-pointers, in improving to 5-15 for the season. "We've never played well up there. You go on an 18-7 run in the first quarter, you take the air out of it.
"We played well together tonight."
Watertown widened that 18-7 first-period lead to 27-17 by halftime and 38-26 through three quarters.
John Kneisel had a breakout game with 22 points and around 10 rebounds.
"We've been waiting on that," Hewitt said of Kneisel. "He really played well, really attacked the boards. He got a lot done in the post. We've been so guard-oriented. He also got us going on defense. He got a couple of steals and took them in for layups."
Justin Breece threw in three of his four three-pointers in the first quarter on his way to 12 points while Aaron Fountain struggled early from outside but drove to the basket for all 10 of his points after halftime. Levi Tschaekofske, Seth Pritchett and Dalton Phillips each tossed in two points and Jonathan Harris a free throw at the halftime buzzer off an offensive rebound.
Trey Leonard scored 17 for Red Boiling Springs.
Watertown will host Hermitage Springs on Thursday.

Eagles pull away from Saints in fourth
WESTMORELAND — Mt. Juliet Christian trailed from the first quarter on and was shut out in the fourth as Westmoreland pulled away with a 68-34 thumping Tuesday night.
The Eagles led 12-8 following the first quarter, 32-19 at halftime and 47-34 through three periods.
Jeremy Troutt fired in four three-pointers on his way to 20 points for Westmoreland while Teddy Kowalski scored 16 and Tyler Graves 13.
Victor Underwood finished with 15 for Mt. Juliet Christian while Bryce Middleton added 11, Blake Marsh six and Daniel Shedd two as the Saints slipped to 9-11 for the season.
Mt. Juliet Christian will host Carroll Academy on Thursday following the girl's 5 p.m. game.
Sports Editor Andy Reed can be reached at 444-3952 ext. 17 or by e-mail at andy.reed@lebanondemocrat.com.